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'The plan nearly worked' - will Maresca regret selection gamble? Brentford 0-0 Chelsea

Nizaar Kinsella

BBC Sport football news reporter at the Brentford Community Stadium

When Enzo Maresca's starting line-up was announced before Chelsea's trip to Brentford on Sunday, there was a sense of surprise among many Blues fans across social media.

And, after a drab goalless draw at Brentford stretched their winless away run to eight matches to leave their Champions League hopes in the balance, the questions about his team selection grew even louder.

Maresca rested Nicolas Jackson, Cole Palmer, Marc Cucurella and an in-form Pedro Neto against their west London rivals. In came Malo Gusto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke, who all struggled to make an impact.

All four of Chelsea's rested stars came on in the second half and the Blues went from having just six shots and one on target before the interval to 17 shots and four on target.

The Chelsea boss also faced criticism from sections of the away end, who have shown increasing frustration at his style of play, amid chants of "attack, attack, attack" and "we've had a shot" during a poor first half.

The bigger concern is, although Chelsea remain fourth, the fight for the Champions League places is looking increasingly competitive, with Manchester City, Aston Villa and Newcastle all within three points of the Blues.

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